Friday, August 31, 2012

Krishnapriya dd: I see Krishna's plan unfolding like this: the original ISKCON [with DOM] is ISKCON INC. now revived by Lond Island Temple, New York. Prabhupadanugas are to unite within this framework of ISKCON INC. We welcome any existing centre, who want to be part of ORIGINAL ISKCON, PRABHUPADA'S ISKCON. And those who do not they can remain with the bogus GBC ISKCON. We have learned enough theoretically about the ritvik order of Our Gurudeva. Now is time to preach. In every city, every town, every village - the aim should be to get minimum 3 devotees, who will get the ball rolling.

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PD: If there are parallel programs (a) The independent Prabhupadanugas, and their centers, their home programs, their many web sites, and their families and affiliates etc., and (b) some nice people who agree with us inside corporate official ISKCON, then certainly we are fixing ISKCON from both inside and out?

We are thus collectively bringing the right ideas inside ISKCON, maybe through the front door -- if we can, but if we are blocked, then we will use the side door, back door, attic window, wherever else we can. Some devotees who live in official ISKCON temples have told me for years now: they agree with us. HENCE: they are offering their bhogha to Srila Prabhupada, they read only the original books, and they are fully cognizant the GBC guru system is corrupt. So they are Prabhupadanugas, perhaps like those who were serving Kamsa, but were worshipping Krishna as we see in the Krishna book. Thats all fine as far as I can see?

For example, some devotees I know go out on samkirtana and then rent computers at coffee shops and read our web sites and talk to us. OK they are inside corporate ISKCON, but they like us. So what does it matter where they are, they are agreeing with the right ideas? That is all that matters as far as I can see. I am not in favor of making a clear line, you have to be in or out, we need allies everywhere, both in and out. And we have some both in and out, thus we need more in both areas, thats all.

So we are fixing ISKCON in all respects. As for the ISKCON Long Island case, we probably need to get this finalized in court first. Then we can depute people to act as their agents in different areas. We are hoping for the best in court, lets see what happens. As for the idea of our making our own independent GBC and managerial system etc. as was stated in the DOM and many other related letters and conversations regarding the formation of a GBC and so on, right, but the fact is that this system cannot be implemented unless it is adopted by us, the worldwide network of Prabhupadanugas. This is what we said all along, all of these documents need to be implemented by our Prabhupadanuga group, because our group is the only group that can do anything at this point. And I am willing to help coordinate this as much as possible, and always have been.

Anyway, we are making progress on many fronts and eventually, as we get enough members and supporters, a managerial system will come about in due course. Srila Prabhupada showed us the path, he concentrated first on gaining support, then later he discussed management. As Srila Prabhupada says -- more than once, preach first, and then management will follow like a shadow. ys pd

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Nara Narayana dasa Vishvakarma: WHAT A 'LIMP' COMMITMENTLESS SUGGESTION! Here we are opening the door to TAKING OVER ISKCON FOR SRILA PRABHUPADA, and now comes Tim Lee, STILL TRYING TO OUTDO Srila Prabhupada by OPENING HIS OWN MOVEMENT, and taking away energy from the ...

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Krishnapriya dd: [PADA had said] ... So we are fixing ISKCON in all respects. As for the ISKCON Long Island case, we probably need to get this finalized in court first. I RESPECTFULL pray to differ here with your view: we cannot wait and should not wait for finalizing court case as GBC Iskcon will purposely delay things as far as possible. The way I see it is that ISKCON INC IS IN EXILE, just like the Pandavas were, after DURYODHANA USURPED INDRAPRASTHA. So, we have to get a shadow worldwide GBC within the Origianl ISKCON inc in place! That is no small job, but needs to be done. Why would Srila Prabhupda entrust HIS ISKCON to us, if we are not able to handle. Do we want to destroy ISKCON INC. as they have done with ISKCON. Srila Prabhupada allowed them to have something they called ISKCON as playground, where they could get all their material ambitions worked out and the results would be there for all to see. Let us learn our lesson from this and move forward in pure spiritual way.

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PD: Sorry, I cannot tell humble devotees who mostly have small temples and home programs and so on, to already start to use the official name of ISKCON without legal authorization? They will be sued. We already cannot barely afford these lawsuits (Madhu Pandit has spent about $15m so far) and this will be a burden on our small satelitte program's preaching.

I want to keep our people preaching and not burden them with million dollar lawsuits they cannot afford. That is also why I do not use the official name of ISKCON, its illegal. I am not encouraging illegal activity for anyone, and like I said, this will simply burden our people and they will have to stop their preaching and have to raise money for these lawsuits instead.

I am preaching and our affiliates are also preaching, instead of getting into hugely expensive lawsuits which almost none of us can afford at this time. If we get legal authorization to use ISKCON's name, that would be nice. I hope we can do that, but in the meantime we have to keep our preachers preaching. I have fully supported Madhu Pandit and the LI lawsuit as much as possible, and Madhu Pandit's program has been citing our web sites and so on as proof the GBC process is bogus. Our web sites are linked to his, so we are helping as much as we can, but not all of us can engage in these official lawsuits, its not practical for most of our devotees who are in humble material situations to raise huge amounts of money for legal activity.

So what I do for example is; I talked to two people yesterday for about three hours, one is living in an official ISKCON temple, one is living outside and visiting a temple, and I never bothered to ask either of them if they are part of ISKCON or not. That is not my main concern. I want them to become dedicated worshippers of Srila Prabhupada, because at the time of death that is all that is going to save them, not whether they were part of this official corporation or that.

Accepting Srila Prabhupada as their guru is the only thing that will save them in the end, in not only my opinion, but in the opinion of Krishna. He says "acharyam mam vijnaniyam." That is also basically what Martin Luther said, your love for the acharya Jesus is the only thing that will save you, whereas being part of the official church is not going to do that. Srila Prabhupada called these people "Churchianity."

And so he jettisoned himself from the Gaudiya Matha and preached independent, and so did we. He was a preacher and not a follower of any official institutions. At the same time, if the institution can be saved, ok, I will help and have helped. My web sites are being used all along by Madhu Pandit to help him fight the bogus GBC, but I am not going to stop all my other preaching and tell people to act illegally because that will hamper my preaching and theirs.

Srila Prabhupada did not use the name of the Gaudiya Matha because it was embroiled in lawsuits. He had other things to do. And of course his God brothers thought he was bogus for not using their official Gaudiya Matha name. So we did what he did, we just preached and did not bother if we had control of the corporation name or not. In any case we are followers of Lord Chaitanya, He says, invite people to your house and preach. Do something humble, and later you can make a big institution, ok fine, but begin at the beginning. So my help is already there, the people making lawsuits are using our sites and materials, I have been helping all along. Yet I need to do both things at once, keep both the preaching side and helping the lawsuit side simultaneously. Incidently, one of the people I was preaching to said, I am the only person he can confide in, my web sites have saved his life, and I am helping him greatly. So this program needs to continue as well. And if there is anything more that I can do to help the lawsuit side, I will do so. Just tell me what that is. ys pd

PD: Srila Prabhupada: Kṛṣṇa is very much anxious to take us back home, back to Godhead, but we are stubborn and do not wish to go. Therefore He is always looking for the opportunity to take us back home. He is just like an affectionate father.

When a son who is a rascal leaves his father and goes loitering in the street, with no food and no shelter, and suffers very much, the father is always anxious to bring the boy back home. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme father, and all the living entities within this material world are exactly like misled children of a wealthy man who have left home to loiter in the street. Therefore the greatest benefit one can bestow upon one’s fellow human being is to give him Kṛṣṇa consciousness. No kind of material profit will satisfy the living entity, but if he is given Kṛṣṇa consciousness he will actually be satisfied.

A bewildered boy loitering in the street may be reminded, “My dear boy, why are you suffering so much? You are the son of a very rich man who has so much property. Why are you loitering in the street?” And if he comes to understand, “Yes, I am the son of this important man. Why shall I loiter in the street?” he may then return home. Therefore the best service is to inform those who have forgotten Kṛṣṇa, “You are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. You are the son of Kṛṣṇa, who is full in all opulence. Why are you rotting in this material world?” This is the greatest service. Māyā, illusion, is very strong, but it is the duty of every devotee of Kṛṣṇa to try to enlighten everyone to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kuntīdevī, for example, first said that although Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Person, is within and without, to rascals and fools He is invisible. Therefore she points out, “Here is the Lord—Kṛṣṇa.”

Nimai Pandit dasa: Which lawsuit, why? Why would anybody file lawsuits on affiliates? We are advising potential affiliates to not say we are ISKCON. Following is excerpt from the draft affiliation doc - "During this period of our provisional affiliation with ISKCON, Inc. we understand that we are permitted to add the following statement to our publications like websites, letterhead, visiting cards, etc.: "Affiliated with: International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc., ("ISKCON") NY (estd 1966). Founder & Acharya His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada"

This is under legal advise of multiple attorneys. If anyone has any tangible, legal basis of concern, then they can bring it up privately to me. An affiliation is a voluntary step by an affiliate to associate. As it is voluntary, it is not legally binding, nor is affiliate legal effected by what happens to affiliant. If in the most unlikely scenario that ISKCON, Inc. looses the case in the next 3-4-5 years, then affiliates can just disaffiliate with one resolution of theirs, and go about their business. At least by that time, multiple steps would have been taken to make ISKCON Constitution and uplift all combinedly, we would have learned how to work together, all of us around the world, which we are not able to do now anyway.

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PD: Thanks for the confirmation Nimai Pandit prabhu. Right, my point exactly, "We are advising potential affiliates not to say we are ISKCON." That is what I have been saying all along, we cannot advertise we are ISKCON until we clear this with proper legal channels. This is a confirmation of my original point which some folks just do not seem to comprehend, we cannot advertise people to do illegal things like using the name of a charity without proper authorization. Its all "provisional" until its cleared legally, that is what I have said all along for the past 35 years. ys pd

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Nimai Pandit dasa: Another section from the draft is: "We understand that our name ":........" will be added to ISKCON, Inc.'s "Centers lists around the World", and hereby consent to such addition." This is another way all can be "ISKCON" and not directly ISKCON too. At least for new comers and others a list of centers affiliated to ISKCON, Inc. would make local centers look more authentic, formal and part of Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON rather than upstart lonely outposts. Maybe this center list can be printed in the back of books printed by Veda Guhya Prabhu. That would give more enthusiasm for book distributors to distribute the books knowing they can approach 50 or so centers of ISKCON, Inc. around the world if they are interested more. A combined effort in that regard of all the centers may make KBI more enthusiastic to print more. So many languages are there in which the books are not translated by even BBT. Veda Guhya Prabhu, whatever is said here about his decision to initiate, no one can doubt his commitment to print the highest quality of original books which all of us have benefited from last 10+ years. Hence coming together formally may help book production, distribution and help to newcomers too.

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PD: Fantastic, we support doing that. Lets start to compile this list of affiliates. Great idea. ys pd

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Nimai Pandit das: Gaurangasundar das is ISKCON, Inc.'s communication director so any one wants to know more about affiliation and other related things can chat with him. Thanks Puranjana Prabhu. Always count on you and grateful to you for multiple help and encouragement through the years. While Gauranga sundara dasa and others are working on affiliations, we also need to get a research / compilation for the

ISKCON Constitution. Hopefully within a week we will have an internet framework ready to start work on it. Yours and Yasoda Prabhu's active participation and guidance would be essential.

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PD: This is a good idea, we need to combine ideas together for the constitution. I also started a partial addresses list, lets all work together on getting it more organized.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

DISAPPEARANCE OF HIS GURUDEV SRILA PRABHUPADA
After some days a telegram was received by Sripad Madhusudan prabhu and it stated the disappearance of Srila Prabhupada on 1st January 1937. Srila Maharaj attended with Sripad Sharma in that commemoration
ceremony. In this way he practised his doctorship and left his house for Mayapur on 25th June, 1937.

DIKSHA
He received Diksha from Srila Ananta Vasudeva Para Vidyabhusan Prabhu as per the advice of the senior most Sannyasis but later on left him for unavoidable circumstances.

I am very happy to see the article by Raya Nitai dasa Vanacari on the new GBC 'Parallel Lines of Authority' paper. The points he made are very well presented and his article is well worth a careful reading. He has covered the main points very nicely, I just want to add one small observation.

When I joined ISKCON in 1986, the Zonal Acharya system was in full swing and ISKCON was preaching that their gurus were liberated, self-realized paramahamsas who were on the same level as Srila Prabhupada. At that time they had divided the planet into zones and in each zone, the 'acharya' was the supreme and absolute authority. In those days all the authority was with the Zonal Acharyas, and practically the GBC had no authority at all. Each zone was independently managed by the Zonal Acharya.

In the mid 80's it became obvious to almost everyone that ISKCON's so-called acharyas were not really pure devotees and were far, far below the transcendental platform of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Many of them fell down very publicly and embarrassingly for ISKCON. There was some confusion for some time and even a short period where many devotees in ISKCON rediscovered Srila Prabhupada and took shelter of him after their gurus fell down. Around 1996, in conjunction with Narayana Maharaja, the GBC published a paper stating that the guru does not have to be a pure devotee, does not have to be liberated, can be a conditioned soul, etc. Then the GBC elevated many of the devotees who were very anxious to get promoted to the platform of guru to the status of "non-liberated guru". Soon there were more than 100 new ISKCON gurus.

Then this problem with authority in ISKCON become a serious management issue. It became an impossible situation because now, unlike in the Zonal Acharya days, where all the devotees in a temple and the temple president would all be disciples of the same guru, now there were so many gurus in ISKCON all preaching slightly different versions of the philosophy, and in a temple the devotees and temple authorities were disciples of many different gurus... Disciples of one guru did not like to accept the authority of the temple president, particularly if the temple president was a disciple of a different guru... And 'gurus' did not like temple presidents exercising authority over their disciples, particularly if the temple president was not their disciple. So the whole ISKCON organization became practically impossible to manage and it was a very unsatisfactory situation for both disciples and gurus. No one was happy and no one really knew who was his authority. Should he surrender to his guru? Should he surrender to the GBC? Should he surrender to the temple president? This really became a big problem, particularly if the three authorities were giving the disciple contradictory instructions...

So that is the brief history of authority in ISKCON since the physical disappearance of Srila Prabhupada. Of course, before Srila Prabhupada disappeared from our mundane vision there was no confusion at all. Prabhupada was the Spiritual Master and authority for everyone in ISKCON and he had appointed as his representatives the GBC and the temple presidents, and they were authorities in ISKCON to the extent that they were surrendered servants of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. So Srila Prabhupada established the actual true system of spiritual authority. And that same system continues today, in fact. The person who is the real authority in ISKCON is the person who is surrendered to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna and who is simply representing Srila Prabhupada. Which means actually the real authority in ISKCON Is Srila Prabhupada and one can be respected as an authority in ISKCON only to the extent that he is actually a surrendered soul at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada and to the degree that he is able to inspire his subordinates to purely surrender to and serve Srila Prabhupada.

There has been an ongoing fight between the GBC and the gurus for the authority in ISKCON. But neither the GBC nor the gurus are entitled to the authority in ISKCON according to Srila Prabhupada's management system. Srila Prabhupada established ISKCON as a confederation of independent temples. Prabhupada is completely against any centralization of the management of ISKCON. In fact, Atraya Rsi attempted to establish a centralized management system, giving some authority to the GBC in this regard, and when Srila Prabhupada discovered this he was so angry that he completely dissolved the GBC and put the management of ISKCON back in the hands of the temple presidents.

Actually Srila Prabhupada's system for management and authority in ISKCON is completely local and completely decentralized. His vision is the local temple authorities will manage the temple and organize things according to their ability and level of realizations. Prabhupada's system is 'unity in diversity', so his vision is that the temples may be diverse. Not that every temple will be exactly the same as every other temple. There is room in Prabhupada's ISKCON for his disciples to develop the preaching in different ways in different temples. And in Prabhupada's management system there is a very important role for the GBC, but they are not authorities over the temples, nor are they meant to be involved in the management of the temples. The GBC's are supposed to be advanced devotees who will constantly travel to all the different temples in their zones and will preach and inspire the devotees. And their responsibility is to see that the spiritual standards of the temples are maintained. It is the GBC's responsibility to see that every devotee in every temple in his zone is rising before 4:00 am in the morning, attending the Mangal-Aroti, chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra on japa beads, strictly following the four regulative principles, attending the Bhagavatam class and going out daily on sankirtan, distributing Prabhupada's books and congregationally chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. But the GBC has no management authority over the temple. The GBC is not in charge of the temple. The local temple authorities are in charge of the temple.

In Srila Prabhupada's management system, the GBC has no power to remove a temple president, for example -- that is up to the local temple devotees. If, however, there is a unanimous vote of the GBC, they may be able to exercise some authority, but the basic principle is they only act in an advisory capacity to the temple management and the temple management is the authority in the temple.

Anyhow, for some years in ISKCON they tried to run with this impossible 'parallel lines of authority' where a devotee was supposed to accept his guru, his temple president and his GBC all as authorities, and in many cases they would all give him contradictory instructions... So such a system is not at all practical. Therefore, now the GBC has proclaimed with this new 'parallel lines' paper that there are actually no parallel lines of authority in ISKCON, the only authority in ISKCON is the GBC and everyone must surrender to and serve the GBC. They make it very clear that initiating gurus are no exemption to this. They must also surrender to and serve the GBC...

There is absolutely no mention or even admission of the concept that a devotee in ISKCON should surrender to and serve Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. This idea has been replaced with the idea of surrender to the GBC... But the GBC is simply a political body composed of men and women who possess the four defects of conditioned souls: they make mistakes, they cheat, they are illusioned and they have imperfect senses. Unfortunately if one surrenders to conditioned souls like this, there is no hope for him in making spiritual advancement. Krishna advises in the beginning of the Bhagavad-gita that if one wants to make spiritual advancement, he must surrender to a bona fide spiritual master, inquire submissively, render service and offer obeisances because such a self-realized soul can give him real knowledge, as he has seen the truth. ISKCON has long ago rejected these clear instructions from Krishna and openly preaches to the devotees that they should surrender to 'spiritual masters' who are not self-realized and who have not seen the truth, and that somehow they will benefit from this.

But now, since this new parallel lines paper has become ISKCON law, they have practically eliminated the guru from ISKCON. Now the guru in ISKCON is simply a servant of the centralized, bureaucratic and dictatorial GBC, who give orders which the 'gurus' must follow, or be considered 'rogue gurus' and face excommunication from ISKCON. There are no parallel lines of authority any more. There is only one authority, the GBC, and everyone in ISKCON must surrender to and serve the GBC.

Like so many of the GBC's 'laws', this is completely contradictory to the teachings of Srila Prabhupada and has no validity whatsoever. It is maya. The GBC is in maya and they are simply speaking like mad crazy men. There is no sense whatsoever in their new 'parallel lines' law.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

GC: The trail (of the idea there is no Kaliki Avatar) leads back to two infamous Gaudiya Matha personalities, Ananta Vasudeva and Sundarananda Vidyavinoda. Both these personalities were defectors from Gaudiya Matha in 1947 (approximately ten years after the departure of Sarasvati Thakura). After leaving Gaudiya Matha, Ananta Vasudeva went to Vrndavana where he sought out siddha-pranali diksa and Sundarananda Vidyavinoda returned to his family guru in Navadvipa.

Kanupriya Gosvami was formerly the family guru of Sundarananda Vidyavinoda with whom he reconnected. Sundarananda also introduced Fakir Mohan, a third Gaudiya Matha defector, to Kanupriya Gosvami from whom Fakir Mohan took diksa. Fakir Mohan had been a disciple of Ananta Vasudeva as well as a junior editor for Ananta Vasudeva under Sundarananda.

[PADA: Is this the same Fakir Mohan (advertised as a disciple of Ananta Vasudeva) who has been invited to ISKCON temples? http://youtu.be/_WIEDf9mj9M Seems like -- he is!]

GC: Bhaktivedanta Swami Parbhupada has written the following condemnation of the infamous Vasudeva:
"One of your closest disciples, the jackal Vasudeva [srgala-vasudeva], has rejected your instructions [tomara upadesa tyaji]. His regrettable preference for infectious poison has resulted in an epidemic of worshipping and serving sahajiyas [sahajiya-seva]. Where are your instructions still being followed? As it is said: 'punar musika bhava' – everyone has ‘again become a mouse’ [‘punara-musika’ sab haila apani]. Today the lion's food has been stolen by the jackal and everyone is reduced to tears as they are caught in Maya's clutches." (Viraha-astakam, ch 5)

That Kanupriya Gosvami may be at the root of numerous Sahajiya concepts that have crept there way into contemporary Vaisnavism is confirmed from the following statement of an ISKCON acaryain 1994.

[ ... However ... ] There is still plenty of nama-aparadha to be found and misconceptions have now become mainstream conceptions among many western Vaisnavas and particularly in ISKCON. Another ISKCON member further confirms the influence of Kanupriya Gosvami upon ISKCON with the following statement:

"From what I have heard from tapes and from the mouths of Fakir Mohan Prabhu and our Guru Maharaja, they did not meet so many times. Prabhu [Fakir Mohan] would sometimes bring books of his diksa-guru's writings (Srila Kanupriya Gosvami) for our Guru Maharaja. Maharaja was very appreciative and they spoke a number of times about the prema-yugaand about the esoteric significance of Jagannath Puri Dham. Our Guru Maharaja requested him to be in charge of a vaishnava college that he wanted to start in Orissa. [Bhubaneshwar, India 2005]

[*Note: Fakir Mohan continues to the present day to act in the capacity of giving siksa to the residents of ISKCON, Bhubaneshwar]

[PADA: And Gaura Govinda maharaja was associated with some of these deviants.]

GC: But the ISKCON section of Vaisnavas are not alone, as certain Indian born, second generation disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta [posing as Gaudiya Matha] are also championing the misconceptions of Kanupriya Gosvami by preaching that there will be no Kalki-avatara in this Kali-yuga.

[PADA: Narayana Maharaja has been preaching that there is no Kalki avatar.]

One such "acarya" (Narayana Maharaja) is quoted as saying: Srila Maharaja mentioned a few times that in this age of kali, Kalki-avatara doesn’t come… Not in this Kali-yuga. He won’t come. But if he comes; no harm. He will be raising his arms and chanting, “Haribol, Haribol” in Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana movement.

The argument is that Kalki-avatara is a lila-avatara and that there are no lila-avataras in Kali-yuga. To support this premise Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s purport to Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 6.99 is quoted. There Kalki-avatara is mentioned as the last of the twenty-five lila-avataras. The rationale has become — Kalki-avatara equals lila-avatara, equals no Kalki-avatara in this Kali-yuga! However, this simple reading of the purport and convenient conclusion is certainly something that only a thirty-two ounce brain (or less) could come up with.

What is missed in the reading is that Buddha, who also appeared in Kali-yuga is mentioned as alila-avatara (as were Parasurama, Narada, Prthu, the Four Kumaras and Vyasa in other yugas) yet the deeper study of Bhagavatam and Vaisnava literature in general confirms that Buddha as well as Kalki-avatara and the others mentioned here are actually avesa-avatars. In this regard we have already quoted Rupa Gosvami above.

Our conclusion is supported by previous acaryas, such as Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and our siksa-guru Srila B.R. Sridhara Deva Gosvami, that Kalki-avatara will appear at the end of this Kali-yuga — if one doesn’t want to be here when that happens then one should give up all connection with Kanupriya Gosvami and those influenced by his misconceptions.

[PADA: OK good, except Sridhara Maharaja has said that acharyas go mad after money, women and followers. In any case, why has ISKCON allowed Gaura Govinda Maharaja to be their acharya, knowing he is associated with these deviants? Why has ISKCON allowed Narayana Maharaja to be their siksha guru knowing he is associated with these deviants? Why has ISKCON allowed Sridhara Maharaja to be their shiksha guru knowing he supports the idea that acharyas are deviants, and he is the founder father of making Ananta Vasudeva the acharya in the first place? ys pd]
=================================Siksha on the Sly

BY: KRISHNA DEVI DASI

I would like to address the “Stay within ISKCON” instruction given by Gour Govinda Swami. Almost immediately after the disappearance of Gour Govinda Swami, there was a political upheaval in ISKCON Bhubaneswar, with the Oriyan disciples pushing the Western disciples out and assuming responsibility for all areas of temple management.

Madhavananda and Bhaktarupa prabhus took guidance from Dr. Fakir Mohan Das, a Vaishnava friend of Gour Govinda Swami. Eventually, this relationship became more formal, with the little group of Western Gour Govinda disciples in Bhubaneswar hearing Bhagavatam class daily and taking siksha from Fakir Mohan Das, formerly of the Gaudiya Mission.

Something happened a few years ago, and they stopped publicly supporting Fakir Mohan prabhu. By then however, Fakir Mohan prabhu had been introduced to many ISKCON leaders and devotees.

I see that Fakir Mohan Das has lectured in ISKCON temples, including Amsterdam. You can read more about Fakir Mohan Das from Bhaktarupa prabhu here. There are also several YouTube videos of Fakir Mohan Das. My point being that even some of Gour Govinda Swami’s followers go outside ISKCON, despite their external allegiance to the ISKCON GBC. If ISKCON devotees bring outside influences into the institution, then what does “Stay with ISKCON” mean?

It was known amongst the intimate disciples of Gour Govinda Swami that he himself took siksha from Oriyan babajis and saints. Otherwise, where did he get the things he preaches? Not from our Srila Prabhupada! And why do Gour Govinda and Narayana Maharaja’s teachings so closely resemble each other? Again, it’s the babaji connection. Narayana Maharaja likes to say that Gour Govinda Swami secretly took siksha from himself, but there is no proof or witnesses to such events.

Gour Govinda Swami preached “stay within ISKCON”, but what does that really mean? It appears that the idea is to publicly affiliate yourself with your spiritual master’s math, but privately take siksha from wherever it comes, even outside your institution.

Bhakti Prajnan Kesava Maharaja, Narayana Maharaja’s guru and our Srila Prabhupada’s sannyasa guru, was very strict about discussing rasa tattva or permitting disciples to read raganuga literatures. So where does Narayana Maharaja get such knowledge?

From outside the institution of his spiritual master. At an earlier point in Narayana Maharaja’s life, he left the math of Bhakti Prajnan Kesava Maharaja and went to Radha Kunda to take shelter of the babas there. He talked privately about this with his early ISKCON followers like Tamal Krishna Goswami, Giriraj Swami, Sivarama Swami, etc.

Although Narayana Maharaja may disagree with the babajis publicly, privately he took their siksha for rasa tattva and raganuga sadhana. In fact, some of Narayana Maharaja’s writings are directly plagiarized from the commentaries of Sri Ananda Gopal Gosvami and Sri Ananta Dasa Babaji, renowned Radha Kunda babajis.

There continues to be crossover between Narayana Maharaja’s devotees and the siddha pranali lines, with Premananda das (BV Tirtha Maharaja now) giving siddha pranali diksha or directing devotees to raganuga gurus in the babaji line for siddha pranali diksha. It is an open secret that a few advanced Indian disciples in Narayana Maharaja’s camp are getting siddha pranali.

Narayana Maharaja, on the other hand, preaches that if he is not permitted to preach and canvass in ISKCON temples, then ISKCON devotees should leave their gurus and come to his camp. To solve the dilemma of “stay within ISKCON”, he states that he himself “is ISKCON” and the “real successor” of our Srila Prabhupada.

To address our Western attachment to “honesty”, Narayana Maharaja’s camp preaches: “Krsna is very tricky. Therefore, raganuga devotees are also very tricky.” Or, “If you have greed for raganuga bhakti, you will do whatever necessary to obtain your goal, prema-bhakti.” So it’s considered a sign of advancement that a devotee will be a powerful devotee in his math, but slip away for siksha from a babaji or saint on the sly.

The point being: “Stay within ISKCON” or “Stay within your guru maharaja’s math” is a public stance meant to preserve a connection for a variety of reasons. The downside of this is that Srila Prabhupada’s teachings in ISKCON are being weakened by the introduction of outside elements from caste Goswami or babaji lines.

PADA: Notice that Rocana / Ravinari never tell us what should be done to fix things? They say our plan (to get people to worship Srila Prabhupada) is bogus and "one sided." OK, our idea of re-establishing the worship of the acharya is bad, and worse its "one sided" because we are not listening to their better plan .... but they never tell us -- what is their better plan? They complain there is no dialogue? Fine, so dialogue with us, tell us what is the better plan then? Simply sniping at the GBC (and us) produces nothingness. Tell us what the better plan is, and lets have that reviewed by the assembled devotees, and it if works better than our plan, we will all accept it.

However, since they have never presented any plan at all, their only plan is to snipe at others and do nothing else. That is not a practical program, hence, they have no followers, centers, preaching, nothingness. At least we have something going on, and our program is increasing. Their program has nothing also because it is trying to block our idea of worship of the pure devotee, that puts their idea on the same footing as the GBC gurus, "lets block the worship of the pure devotee." That means they are helping the evil gurus mainly. ys pd

Go crazy ... by Haripada dasaYesterday I phoned a devotee and said some interesting things, which I will share with you, and which are welcome, good and inspiring. I said there are very few people who live without fear, living the truth, living with Srila Prabhupada and living with God or Krishna.

He said: the result of making offenses to Srila Prabhupada is that people go crazy. And crazy is a person who does not live the reality and the truth. Before Srila Prabhupada entered his samadhi lila, some of his followers who were filled full of ambitions and envy of Srila Prabhupada and Iskcon were already creating (a guru appointment deviation) that has nothing to do with the ISKCON Srila Prabhupada founded.

IT IS ALSO IRREFUTABLE that Srila Prabhupada was poisoned. Everyone knows that Srila Prabhupada left no one as his successor, but sent a special directive ordering all ISKCON to have His disciples be representatives and to initiate on his behalf. These people deliberately invented that Srila Prabhupada left them as the gurus to continue the guru parampara. From that moment everything was broken, and Iskcon's connection with Srila Prabhupada was broen, since the connection with Acharya comes through obedience.

Again the result of making offenses to Srila Prabhupada is that people go crazy, and who can make sense in a fool?, Recently I was in a group on facebook called bhakti yoga, they are ISKCON and Vrinda, I tried using some writings expose things as I saw them, the result is that full of envy, violence, bigotry and hatred of the group threw me out. For me it was a very good experience. And I falsely concluded that I may make some sense in these fools.

And not only that, I realized that there are people who are so hypocritical while posing as friends, as soon as you reveal things, then they hurt you with the things you have revealed to them. So as I said, Srila Gaura das kisora babaji said let them GO TO HELL and leave. Therefore I tell you: do not trust anyone but Srila Prabhupada and the Acharyas and the things that are genuine, with people today we must take care. Most are envious, hypocritical, violent, do not know relate to anyone.

I started sending my writings to 60 contacts, when no one answered I reduced my contacts to 20, at the end I thought my contacts are ghosts, no one answered, so many people repeat offenses they do to Srila Prabhupada, they go crazy, and how you can relate mad men? Better to be alone than in bad company, the solution for all this is that we, chanting Hare Krishna, and respecting prasada offered to Srila Prabhupada, do some service authorized by Srila Prabhupada with love, devotion and gratitude. And if we can leave our bodies without deluded ourselves and others, that will be our success and Lord Purushottama O SRI KRISHNA take us back home back to Godhead. And the madmen will stay here with their follies.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Sattvic Das: While waiting for the bus for Bangalore last night I met a devotee who was there at the program in Udupi. I recounted to him the short conversation I had with Prithu das and the logic behind the GBC guru business. He agreed that if the Iskcon so-called gurus are proclaiming that they take their so-called disciples to Prabhupada, then by logic they are his disciples. Prithu admitted to me that telling them that they are taking them to Krishna would be a LIE. Gradually the tide is turning. I was so happy to see so many youngsters chanting the Holy Name unfortunately they fall into the hands of the like of Prabhavishnu who are no better than ordinary thieves. OM Tat Sat.

===================================================

PADA: Right, the GBC guru system is falling apart, its a question of time. ys pd

=====================================================

The money changers / book changers / in the temple. Their influence is dwindling big time.

SATTVIC DASA: I met Prithu Das at a program here in Udupi and we had a little talk about guru and disciple relationship. He told me that Prabhupada's disciples are waning and disappearing. I replied that this is so because of Iskcon leadership not telling the truth that we are all disciples of Srila Prabhupada. (Disciple means follow the discipline). I asked him which discipline these devotees are following and he replied Srila Prabhupada's. So, then they are his disciples. Then he said that we should not disturb the mind of these young devotees to which I stated that their mind is already been disturbed by not presenting the actual facts. Then I Asked him who takes the disciples back home to Godhead and who relieves them from their sinful reactions and who gives them Divya jnana and he said that it was Prabhupada. I then told him that many gurus in Iskcona are now saying that they are taking their disciples to Prabhupada and that they recognize that they are unable to take them to Krishna and he readily agreed that it would be a lie if they were saying that they were taking them to Krishna. I then asked him if you take them to Prabhupada then Srila Prabhupada is the guru. That is simple and transparent logic and a FACT. He did not know what to say after that. OM Tat Sat

Akruranatha has never answered our original question, how come he and the GBC have been saying since 1978 that people constantly being exposed engaged in illicit sex etc. -- are able to accept bhogha offerings which are then "chewed by the lips of Krishna"? Why does Akruranatha and his party think Krishna is chewing something that is being chewed by people who are engaged in illicit sex, drugs and criminal behaviors? This was my question in 1979, how can we offer bhogha to Jayatirtha, when he is having problems with sex and drugs? And Akruranatha's pals kicked me out for asking the question at all, and went on to offer bhogha to people having oral sex with taxi drivers in the holy dham, and who knows what else. Akruranatha and party claim that offering bhogha to people engaged in oral sex, illicit sex, drugs and so on --- equals prasadam, touched by the lips of Krishna? That means Akruranatha thinks bhogha offered to debauchees is then tasted by Krishna, and anyone who disagrees needs to be beaten with shoes and kicked out. And now Akruranatha party is spending $15,000,000 suing us, so we can spread their program of eating food offered to people engaged in all kinds of sex, even oral sex with taxi drivers, taking drugs and so on? Anyway Akruanatha party can eat bhogha offered to the lips of oral sex with taxi drivers, but that is not what the rest of us want to do. ys pd

The dead body of Vrshabanu das, age 25, was tossed in front of the Rama Krishna hospital by some gurukulis, who they ran off. Vrshabanu was invited to leave the ISKCON temple by some young men around 2 pm and he was not seen alive ever again. The current ISKCON temple temple president told the mother just to forget the whole thing because Radharani has taken him back to Krishna. He looks very suspicious. Some people are saying this death was a suicide, others are saying, this boy would never do that.

The GBC has offered no explanation, nor has the death has been announced anywhere. Vrshabanu's mother is Brajanaikya and Vrshanbanu's brother is Gauranga, both well known in Vrndavana. Both of them report that they are not getting any explanation for this death? Some of the gurukulis here have been taking drugs in the USA, perhaps this part of the problem over there? Which gurukulis invited him away? What happened to him after he was invited away?

Does anyone have any explanation for any of this? Why was this not announced anywhere? Was foul play involved? Why the silence when every other death is given front page treatment on Dandavats.com and so on? Why was no investigation launched by the GBC, rather they are telling people to "forget" about it? Something seems to have gone very wrong here, and we hope someone will help us get to the bottom of this so the family members will get some closure on what really happened. ys pd

Srila Prabhupada did many things
that might be adjudged, by veda-vada-ratas,
Hindus or others, to be against Vedic traditions.

For instance, Srila Prabhupada
left India as a sannyasi and traveled
abroad. He offered diksa and sannyasa to persons born in families of yavanas. He offered gayatri diksa to women and allowed women to be pujaris in public temples. As a sannyasi,
he allowed women to approach him and do personal service. As a sannyasi, he took part in marriage
ceremonies for his disciples. He established Deities and temple worship outside
of India. He traveled in cars and planes, left India, and circled the globe 12
times, although Vedic tradition forbids such travel for sannyasis. He formally initiated thousands of disciples he had
never met. He did this through the agency of ritvik priests.

He accepted disciples on the basis of
recommendations of other disciples without ever meeting them in person. Srila
Prabhupada accepted formal, public worship in Krishna’s temples while sitting
on a throne in front of the Deities, although this was apparently never done by
any previous Vaisnava acarya. In all
these ways, by his causeless mercy and the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he
quickly expanded the Krishna consciousness movement all over the world and
proved his unique position.

The argument that Srila
Prabhupada’s final order for ritvik
initiations was against Vedic tradition is fallacious. Paramahamsa Vaisnava acaryas
are always transcendental to tradition.

"No. Tradition,
religion--they are all material. They are also all designation."
(Conv., March 13, 1975)

"Our only
tradition is how to satisfy Vishnu." (Lecture, July 30, 1973)

In any case, no one can show--according
to sadhu, guru, shastra--that no other
Vaisnava acarya ever allowed ritviks to preside over the formalities
of diksa without the Acarya’s manifest presence. A liberated
personality is not limited by time, space or Vedic traditions. No one in the
GBC’s sampradaya has ever shown any
evidence indicating that “posthumous” ritvik
initiations on behalf of the Sampradaya
Acarya are forbidden by Vedic tradition. Unfortunately, many devotees have
been misled into the belief that Srila Prabhupada is an ordinary, temporary
guru limited by a physical form.

“The spiritual master is not a question
of ...['living' or 'dead' ]. The spiritual master is eternal; the spiritual
master is eternal..." (Lecture,
Seattle, Oct. 2, 1968.)

"The spiritual master is in the disciplic succession
since time eternal, and he does not deviate at all from the instructions of the
Supreme Lord." (Bhagavad-gita
As It IS 4.42, Purport.)

It is common sense to understand
that what Srila Prabhupada formally ordered in an official directive sent to
all ISKCON temples and leaders during his last weeks in 1977 takes precedence
over other things he may have privately said, insinuated or suggested prior. A
letter to a renegade disciple, for instance, who was not part of ISKCON is not
evidence for changing the entire system of initiations Prabhupada carefully
arranged in late 1977. In fact, the ritvik
system of initiations had been current in ISKCON for several years prior to
1977, and Prabhupada spoke about it at length right up until his departure in
November.

"I shall recommend some of you to act as officiating acaryas." (Conversation, May 28, 1977, Vrindaban.) "These
initiations. I have deputed my disciples. Is it clear or not?" (Conv.,
Oct. 18, 1977, Vrindaban.)

"I may say many
things to you, but when I say something directly to you, you do it. Your first
duty is to do that, you cannot argue: ‘Sir, you said to me to do like this
before.’ No, that is not your duty. What
I say to you now, you do it. That is obedience. You cannot argue." (Lecture, April 14, 1975, Hyderabad)

Srila Prabhupada never suggested arrangements for nominating or
approving successor acaryas or diksa-gurus. Nor did he authorize any
person, group, or organization to create such a system. Nor did Prabhupada
indicate that one may appoint himself as diksa-guru
or acarya simply by adopting the role
or status. Srila
Prabhupada spoke only of ritvik
initiations. He never suggested anything else. In 1977 he officially
reconfirmed the ritvik system and
made an adjustment to allow the system to continue without his personal
supervision. When he was specifically asked how initiations should be conducted
“in the future, particularly at a time
when you are no longer with us”, he spoke repeatedly only about ritvik initiations. If he had wanted his
disciples to begin initiating their own disciples, why didn’t he say so?

“They did not even consider with common sense—that if Guru Maharaja
wanted to appoint somebody as acarya,
why did he not say? He said so many things, and this point he missed? The real
point? And they insisted upon it. The declared some unfit person[s] to become acarya. Then another man came. And then
another—‘Acarya!’ Another – ‘Acarya!’…” (Conversation, Bombay,
August 16, 1976)

The GBC iskurus and their promoters are dead against Srila Prabhupada’s
orders for ritvik initiations. They
think it condemns them to remain forever as humble servants, denying them their
right to initiate their own disciples in Srila Prabhupada’s mission--denying
them the opportunity to receive guru dakshina,
prestige, worship and life-long indentured servants.

They have no problem, apparently,
with iskurus offering ritvik initiations, even though they may
be neophytes of questionable character. They have no problem with women
becoming elected diksa-gurus,
although this is clearly against Vedic tradition. They have no problem with sannyasis who associate with women. They
have no problem with concocted systems for electing gurus, although all this is
clearly against Vedic tradition. They have no problem ignoring the flamboyant
extravagance of dozens of their voted-in “gurus”. They have no problem closing
Prabhupada’s temples, selling his properties, selling his cows, changing his
books, and spending millions of dollars in court to fight his bona fide
disciples who are preaching successfully. They have no problem with the fact that
thousands of their Godbrothers disagree with their deviant policies.

They pose as diksa-gurus, they say, for preaching Krishna consciousness. Yet
they find it impossible to accept Srila Prabhhupada’s system for ritvik initiations--even for the sake of
keeping ISKCON pure and united. They are horrified, thinking, “How will Prabhupada ever authorize us to be
gurus? Even if we become self-realized, how will he know it? How will he speak
to us now?He is dead and gone.”
Such is the foolishness of the GBC and their elected, upstart “Iskcon gurus”,
more aptly known as iskurus.

According to Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, our Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya guru parampara is based on the instructions of parmahamsas. (See Sri
Guru-Parampara, Verse 9, Songs of the
Vaisnava Acaryas.) This is the real tradition we follow. Our sampradaya is not based on the
formalities and rituals of the Vedas. Pure Vaisnavas are not bound by Vedic
traditions. Krishna points out in Bhagavad-gita
that the Vedas deal mostly with the three modes of material nature and are
meant for those within the jurisdiction of these modes. Lord Krishna advises
Arjuna to rise above these modes. (Bg. 2.45) The actual tradition of Krishna
consciousness teaches that only a paramahamsa,
a devotee on the topmost level of devotional service, is eligible to become guru. The real, eternal tradition asserts
that no one can become guru unless he is ordered to become guru by the paramahamsa Vaisnava acarya, or by Krishna Himself.

"When
one has attained the topmost position of maha-bhagavata, he is to be
accepted as guru and worshiped exactly like Hari, the Personality of Godhead.
Only such a person is eligible to occupy the post of guru." (Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya, 24.330, Purport,
citing Padma Purana.)

"A guru can become guru when he is ordered by his
guru. Otherwise nobody can become guru." (Conversation, October 28, 1975, Nairobi.)

This eternal tradition was perfectly illustrated by Sri Gadahara
Pandita and Srila Gaura Kishora Das Babaji. When Sri Vallabha Bhatta approached
Sri Gadadhara Pandita for initiation, the latter said,“The
work of acting as a spiritual master is not possible for me. I am completely
dependent. My Lord is Gaurasundara, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. I cannot do
anything independently, without His order."(Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya 150, 151.) When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta begged Srila Gaura Kishora for initiation,
the latter said the same thing, “I must first ask Mahaprabhu!”

Yet self-appointed upstarts think
a majority vote from a vitiated ecclesiastical body is all they need to assume
the most exalted status of Gaudiya Vaisnava diksa-guru.
In defiance of Srila Prabhupada’s clear instructions in these matters, they
rely on the sanction of the bogus GBC for their authority to imitate Srila
Prabhupada, the real diksa-guru for
all of ISKCON. In spite of the chaos and division these illicit guru
enterprises have created in Srila Prabhupada’s mission and the lives of
thousands of devotees, they stubbornly insist--using concocted “scissor logic”--that their way is bona
fide and Srila Prabhupada’s system for “representatives of the Acarya” is bogus.

All this maya is due to a poor fund of knowledge, Hindu ideas, and the
original sin, namely false ambition. A statistical analysis will show that the job of iskuru is
one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, right up there with rodeo bull
rider, motorcycle stuntman, and front-line, war-time Marine. Foolish upstarts risk their lives, the integrity of
ISKCON, and the faith of thousands of followers for the sake of false ambition,
the original sin of all conditioned souls.

Additional
References:

"One should not try to be an artificially advanced devotee,
thinking, 'I am a first-class devotee.' Such thinking should be avoided. It
best not to accept any disciples."
(C.C.,Madhya 7.130, Purport.)

"If everyone just initiates, there will only be a
contradictory result. As long as it goes on, there will only be failure."
(From the Palguna Krishna Pancami, a poem by Srila Prabhupada, 1961.)

"The bona fide spiritual master is in the disciplic
succession since time eternal, and he does not deviate at all from the
instructions of the Supreme Lord."
(Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 4.42, Purport.)

“Therefore a disciple should be careful to accept an uttama-adhikari
as spiritual master." (Nectar of Instruction, Text 5,
Purport.)

"...help can be given only by a spiritual master like
Krishna. Therefore the conclusion is that a spiritual master who is one hundred
percent Krishna conscious is the bona fide spiritual master, for he can solve
the problems of life." (Bhagavad-gita
As It Is, 2.8, Purport.)

“He reasons ill who says that Vaisnavas die, when Thou
art living still in sound.” (From a poem by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.)

"However, one should not imitate the behavior of an
advanced devotee or maha-bhagavata without being self-realized, for by
such imitation one will eventually become degraded." (Nectar of Instruction, Text 5, Purport.)

"Srila Jiva Goswami advised that one not accept a
spiritual master in terms of hereditary or customary social and ecclesiastical
conventions. One should simply try to find a genuinely qualified spiritual
master for actual advancement in spiritual understanding." (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 1.35, Purport)

"Why did this Gaudiya Matha fail? They wanted to
create artificially someone as acarya, and everything failed... They
declared some unfit person to become acarya. Then another man came. And
then another--'acarya!' Then another --'acarya!' ...” (Conversation, August 16, 1976, Bombay.)

“Srila Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhakura, He said that ' When our men will be sahajiya,
oh, they'll be more dangerous.' So our men are becoming, some of them, sahajiyas.
This very word He said, that 'When our men will be sahajiyas he'll be
more dangerous'.”

"As
soon as a foolish disciple tries to overtake his spiritual master and becomes
ambitious to occupy his post, he immediately falls down." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.12.14, Purport)

"And as soon as he learns that Guru Maharaja is dead,
'Now I am so advanced that I can kill my
guru and I become guru'... then he is finished." (Conversation, August 16, 1976, Bombay)

"Mundane votes have no jurisdiction to elect a
Vaisnava acarya. A Vaisnava acarya is self-effulgent, and there
is no need of any court judgment." (Caitanya-caritamrta,
Madhya 2.218.)

Please note: Srila Prabhupada replied in similar ways
to related questions such as "who will be the next acarya?"
and "who will be your successor?" Below are a few examples.

"Only Lord Chaitanya can take my place. He will take
care of the movement." (November
2, 1977, Vrindaban)

"After me, there will be no more acarya." (Conversation, New York, 1968)

"I will always be the spiritual master for the entire
Krishna consciousness movement--for anyone in this age willing to follow the
principles I have taught for the benefit of everyone." (Conversation, 1975, Ookala, Hawaii.)

"My success is always there. Yes. Just like the sun
is there always. It may come before your vision or not -- the sun is there. But
if you are fortunate, you come before the sun... The sun is open to
everyone." (Conversation,
February 12, 1975, Mexico City.)

"I will never die. I will live from my books and you
will utilize." (Interview, July
16, 1975, Berkeley.)

"Srila Jiva Goswami advised that one not accept a
spiritual master in terms of hereditary or customary social and ecclesiastical
conventions. One should simply try to find a genuinely qualified spiritual
master for actual advancement in spiritual understanding." (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 1.35, Purport)

"I wish that each and every branch keep their
independent identity and cooperate, keeping the Acarya in the center. On
this principle we can open any number of branches all over the world." (Letter, February 11, 1967.)

"But if
everyone simply imitates your exalted status, there will be only a
contradictory result. As long as this pretense continues, there will only be
utter failure." (From Vaisistya-Astaka,
a poem by Srila Prabhupada, 1961)

"Oh,
shame! shame! my dear Godbrothers--aren't we embarrassed by what we are doing?
In the manner of mundane businessmen we deceptively increase the numbers of our
own disciples." (Vaisistya-Astaka,
1961)

“If one
tries to mingle the worship of yogamaya with mahamaya,
considering them one and the same, he does really show high intelligence.” (Cc.Madhya
8.90, Purport)

“Intermingling the spiritual with the
material causes one to look on transcendence as material and the mundane as
spiritual. This is all due to a poor fund of knowledge.” (Cc.Madhya
16.72, Purport)

"Presently people are so fallen
they cannot distinguish between a liberated soul and a conditioned soul." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.18.5, Purport)

"One
who considers the spiritual master an ordinary human being... is considered a naraki,
a candidate for hellish life."
(Caitanya-caritamrta Antya 6.294, Purport)

"As soon as a foolish disciple
tries to overtake his spiritual master and becomes ambitious to occupy his
post, he immediately falls down."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.12.14, Purport)

"Why
did this Gaudiya Matha fail? ... They wanted to create artificially someone as acarya,
and everything failed... They declared some unfit person to become acarya.
Then another man came. And then another--'acarya!' Then another--'acarya!'
So better to remain a foolish [simple] person perpetually, to be directed by
Guru Maharaja. That is perfection. And as soon as he learns that Guru Maharaja
is dead, 'Now I am so advanced that I can
kill my guru and I become guru.' Then he is finished." (Conversation, August 16, 1976, Bombay.)

“So we follow that 'No
Change Policy'. Not that because I think I have become now advanced, I
change this to that. That means I am not advanced. My knowledge is imperfect.
Therefore I am changing.”

“Real law means there is no change. Just like day and
night, it is coming. The fortnight, the dark period and the light period, it is
coming for millions and millions and time immemorial. The same law is
going...going on. You cannot change. So as soon as you change, that means it is
imperfect.”

Friday, August 17, 2012

A long time ago, thousands of sages came together in the Holy place called the Naimisaranya Forest to perform a great sacrifice. To their very good fortune the great sage Suta Goswami, who had been traveling to different pilgrimage sites, arrived there along with his disciples. The sages present were very enlivened to see him. They all stood up immediately to pay their respects to the great sage, offered him a very nice Vyasasana, and requested him with folded hands to sit down on it.

The sages of Naimisaranya said to Suta Goswami with folded hands, “O Sutaji! We humbly request you to tell us something about the wonderful activities and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are many thousands of such narrations, but we want to hear the most perfect one, by following which we can all be delivered from this Material Ocean and return back to Godhead.

Hearing the request made by these sages, headed by Saunaka Rsi, Suta Goswami began to speak, "O sages, please listen to me. I first went to Puskara Tirtha, then after visiting thousands of other holy places, I reached Hastinapura. There on the bank of Ganges, I saw thousands of sages sitting together with Pariksit Maharaja. Just then the great sage Sukadeva Goswami appeared, and all the sages present paid him proper respect by rising from their seats with folded hands. All the sages unanimously offered the Vyasasana to Sukadeva Goswami, who would speak Krishna katha to Pariksit Maharaja."

Suta Goswami said, "O sages, I have just come from Hastinapura where I heard Srimad Bhagavatam from the lotus mouth of Sukadeva Goswami. Now I will tell you about the all-attractive activities and pastimes of the Lord.

Once, long ago, Sri Narada Muni reached Badrika Ashram, the residence of Sri Narayana Rishi. The river Alakananda was flowing down from His lotus feet. Narada paid his obeisances to Narayana and prayed, 'Oh Lord of the demigods, Oh ocean of mercy! Oh master of creation, You are all truthful, the essence of all truths. I offer my obeisances unto You. Oh Lord! In this material world all living entities are busily engaged in sense gratification. They have all forgotten the ultimate goal of life. Therefore please explain something which will be helpful both for householders and sages in the renounced order like me, something that will help us attain self realization and return back to Godhead.'

Hearing the sweet words of Narada, Lord Narayana smiled. He said, "O Narada, please listen to the narrations about the supremely pious pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, for they will diminish all sinful reaction. You already know of all the activities of the Supreme Lord, but for the benefit of others, you are asking Me again. So now I will tell you about the glories of the sacred Purushottama month, which is fully potent to grant not only all material happiness but also qualify one to return back to Godhead at the end of life."

Naradji enquired, "O Lord, I have heard the glories of all months including Kartika, Chaitra, etc., but which month is this Purushottama month? O ocean of mercy, please tell me all about this sacred month. What is the way to glorify this month? What should I do in this month? How should I take bath, give in charity, etc. What should I chant? Who should I worship? Should I observe fasting in this month? Please tell me everything in detail."

Suta Goswavmi said, "O sages, after hearing all these questions form Narada, Lord Narayana began to speak from His moon-like lotus mouth, 'O Narada, I will tell you something which was previously explained by Lord Sri Krishna to Maharaja Yudhisthira. Once Dharmaraja Yudhisthira lost everything—his empire, his palace and even his chaste wife Draupadi — to Duryodhana in a gambling match. At that time Draupadi was insulted by Dusasana in front of the whole royal assembly. But when Dusasana had tried to strip Draupadi naked, she was saved from such a dangerous situation by Lord Sri Krishna. After this incident, Yudhisthira Maharaja along with his brothers and wife left his kingdom and lived in Kamyavan, Vrindavan.

Once Sri Krishna, son of Devaki, visited the Pandavas in that forest. All the Pandavas, including Draupadi, were very happy to see their Lord, and they forgot their painful forest life immediately. They felt enriched with a new life just by taking Sri Krishna’s darshan. They paid their obeisances at their Lord’s lotus feet. Seeing the miserable condition of the Pandavas, Sri Krishna became very upset, and at the same time He became very angry towards Duryodhana. It appeared as if the Lord was going to destroy the whole universe, and so the Pandavas became fearful and all began to pray to the Lord in a humble mood. Listening to the humble prayers of Arjuna, the Lord composed Himself and said, “Oh Arjuna, being very pleased with all of you Pandavas, and being controlled by your devotion and friendship towards Me, I will now tell you about the wonderful history of Purushottama month.

Once upon a time, by the arrangement of providence, an extra month came to this world. Every one took this month to be most inauspicious, and even saw it as a stool-like month. Just as one should not touch stool, this month was also seen as untouchable. It was constantly unprotected and blasphemed, and rejected by everyone as an improper time for any religious and auspicious activities.

Being so rejected by all human beings, and constantly hearing only bad words and blasphemy, the personality of this extra month became very sad. She came to Vaikuntha to explain her sorrowful situation to the Lord. Seeing Lord Vishnu on His simhasana, she fell down at His lotus feet in a mood of sorrow and grief. Tears were falling profusely from her eyes. She prayed to the Lord, “Oh ocean of mercy! I have come to You because I am helpless. I have been rejected and blasphemed by all people of the world. Please protect me; please show me Your mercy. Please don’t be indifferent towards me.” Saying these words, the extra month [adhik maas] continued crying in front of Lord Vishnu and sat down before Him in a dejected mood. Seeing the humble and pitiable position of the extra month, Lord Vishnu became very merciful towards her. He told her, “Do not lament, I shall give you protection from all of your miseries. Please stop crying. It is not proper to lament after taking shelter of My lotus feet.”

Being so consoled by the Lord, the extra month said, “Oh Lord, You know my painful condition. No one is in more miserable situation in these three worlds than I. First of all, all other months, years, days, nights, directions etc. are being protected by You, and so they are always moving fearlessly in their unique charming moods. But I [an extra month] don’t have any name, nor any protector, nor a husband to give me shelter. All the demigods and human beings have rejected me for any auspicious activities. For this reason, oh Lord, I want to die immediately.” Oh Narada, this extra month then repeatedly said, “I want to die! I want to die! I want to die!” Then she fainted at the feet of the Lord.

Being requested by Lord Vishnu, Garuda started fanning the extra month. And after sometime she got up and began to speak again, “Oh Lord of the universe, I am in need of Your shelter, please protect me.”

Lord Vishnu told the extra month, “Oh child, please don’t lament, your misery will be finished very soon. Get up and come with Me to Goloka Vrindavana, which is even unattainable to great yogis. Goloka is the abode of Lord Sri Krishna. Here Lord Sri Krishna is in His two handed form, surrounded by gopis and is enjoying His eternal pastimes. The Supreme Sri Krishna of Goloka will deliver you from all your miseries, please come with Me.” Then Lord Vishnu took Malamasa (the extra month) to Goloka by catching her by the hand.

From a distant place Lord Vishnu and Malamasa observed the effulgence of Goloka. This dazzling effulgence automatically forced Malamasa to close her eyes. Therefore, keeping the extra month behind Him, Lord Vishnu proceeded further until they reached the main gate. There the doorkeeper paid his respects to Him.

Having reached the Supreme Abode, Lord Vishnu met Lord Sri Krishna who was surrounded by many devoted gopis. Lord Vishnu husband of Ramadevi, paid His obeisances to Lord Sri Krishna. Then He made the extra month also offer her obeisances at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna, even though she was crying loudly. Immediately Sri Krishna asked, “Why is she crying? She is in Goloka Vrindavana, why is she crying?” Hearing these words form Lord Sri Krishna, Lord Vishnu got up from His seat and started explaining the miserable condition of the extra month. He begged Him to please protect his unprotected month. “There is no one except You Lord Krishna, who can save this extra month from her hellish condition and give her full protection.” Having said these words, Lord Vishnu remained standing in front of Lord Krishna with folded hands.

Then Suta Goswami continued to speak, “Oh sages! Lord Vishnu took his seat, and Lord Krishna spoke very confidential words to Him. Listen carefully, for I am now going to share those words with all of you.

Purushottama Sri Krishna said, “Oh Vishnu, you have done a very great deed by bringing this extra month to Me. You will become even more famous for performing this act. Because You have accepted this Malamasa, I will also accept her. I shall make this poor extra month just like Me in quality, fame opulence, realization, success, and in giving benediction to the devotees. This month will become equally potent to Me. I am bestowing all of My divine qualities in this abused month. Named after Me, this month will be famous as Purushottama month in this world.

“Oh Janardana, now that she has imbued My qualities, I Myself will become the husband and protector of this Purushottama month. And being equal to Me, this month will be the master of all other months. Now this month will become worshipable by one and all. Everyone should pay their obeisances to her, everyone should worship her. This month is equally as powerful as Me to give any type of benediction to its observer. The worshiper of this month will be able to burn all this past sinful reactions to ashes, and after enjoying a blissful life in the material realm, he will return back to Godhead.

“Oh Garudadhwaja,” Lord Sri Krishna continued, “My Goloka is unattainable to the performers of austerities, mahatmas engaged in pious activities, to people who maintain celibacy, or to those who fast their whole life’s duration. But just by observing Purushottama month and becoming a devotee one can easily cross over this material ocean and return back to Godhead. Observance of this Purushottama month is the best of all austerities. Just as a farmer produces a rich harvest by planting seeds in nicely cultivated land, so an intelligent man who practices devotional service towards the Supreme Lord in this Purushottama month will enjoy a blissful life while in this world and after leaving his body he will return back to Godhead.

“An unfortunate ignorant man, who does not perform any japa, does not give any charity, does not pay respect to Lord Sri Krishna and His devotees, does not behave properly to brahmanas, makes enmity with others and who blasphemes the Purushottama month will go to hell for an unlimited period.” Lord Sri Krishna continued, “How can a person make his life successful unless he performs devotional service in this Purushottama month? A person who is fully engaged in sense gratification and does not give any special importance to this sacred month becomes the best candidate for hell. All human beings should perform some devotional service in this Purushottama month by:

A fortunate person who follows My instructions and observes this Purushottama month properly, and in a faithful way worships Me will attain fame, opulence and a good son in this very life. After enjoying a happy life, he will return back to Goloka Dhama. By following My instructions, everyone should worship this sacred month. I have made it the best among all other months. Oh husband of Rama devi (Vishnu), give up all kinds of mental speculation about this extra month. Just take this Purushottama month with You to Your Vaikuntha abode.

After narrating this brief history of the Purushottama month, Lord Sri Krishna glanced very mercifully upon Yudhisthira and Draupadi, and then began speaking to Arjuna:

“Oh lion amongst men, can you now understand the reason why you Pandavas are suffering? You did not acknowledge or honor the presence of Purushottama month, which has just recently finished. That month which is most dear to Vrindavan Chandra has passed, but you Pandavas were in the forest and did not worship Purushottama month. So now you are suffering. You have been following the ritualistic principles given to you by Vyasadeva, but unless you worship Purushottama month you cannot perform pure devotional service to Me.”

Lord Sri Krishna continued, “Now I am going to narrate a famous historical event concerning the previous birth of Draupadi. In her previous birth, Draupadi was the daughter of a great Brahmana Sage called Medhavi. Her mother died when she was a small child, and so she was under the care of her father. Day by day, she grew to full bloom youth. She was very beautiful, but her father was not interested in arranging her marriage. Seeing her other girlfriends with their husbands and young children she passed her days in a very miserable way. In the meantime, her father passed away from this material world while uttering the sacred name of Hari.

“This made his daughter even more miserable. Fortunately, the great sage, Durvasa Muni, appeared in her ashram shortly after her father’s death. Seeing the great sage, the girl paid her obeisances to him and respectfully worshiped him. She offered flowers and fruits to the great sage. When he expressed his pleasure with her reception, she began lamenting and crying before him. Concerned, the sage inquired about her lamentation. The brahmana girl began to speak, “Oh great saint Durvasa, you know everything past, present and future. I have no shelter in this world. I have lost all of my relatives. My parents have passed away, and I have no elder brother. I am also unmarried, and therefore there is no husband to protect me. Oh great sage, please do something, please help me! Please give me some advice to relieve me from this miserable condition.” After listening to her prayer, Durvasa began to consider the unfortunate condition of the girl, and he decided to show mercy towards her.

Sage Durvasa began to speak, “Oh beautiful one, three months from now the most auspicious Purushottama month will begin. This sacred month is most dear to Lord Sri Krishna. Just by taking a holy bath in this month a man or woman can become completely sinless. This Purushottama month is more glorious than all other months, including Kartik month. The glories of all other months is not even equal to one sixteenth of the glories of Purushottama month. The merit of a person who takes a holy bath even once in this month is equal to the merit of taking bath in the Ganges for twelve thousand years, or the merit achieved by a person who takes a bath in the Ganges or Godavari when Brihaspati enters Leo. If you will take a holy bath, give in charity and chant the holy name of Krishna during this month, all your miseries will go away. You will attain all kinds of perfection, and all of your desires will be fulfilled. Please follow my advice. Please do not forget to worship the forthcoming Purushottama month very sincerely.”

After speaking these words, Sage Durvasa remained silent. Unfortunately, the young brahmani did not believe in his words; rather she became angry and started blaspheming, “Oh great sage, you are lying. How could this extra month, which is also called Mala-masa [stool month], be superior to other great months like Magha, Kartika and Vaisakha? I cannot believe your words. You are trying to cheat me. This extra month is known to be most abominable for any kind of pious activity.”

Hearing these words of the brahmana girl, Durvasa became very angry, his whole body started burning, and his eyes became red. But remembering the helpless condition of the girl, he consciously controlled himself.

Sage Durvasa told the girl, “Oh unintelligent one, I am not going to curse you because your father was a good friend of mine. You are in such a helpless condition. Being and ignorant child, you cannot understand the shastrik conclusion. I am not going to take your offenses towards me seriously. But at the same time, I cannot and should not tolerate your offences towards Purushottama month. In your next life you will certainly reap the results of your offensive words.” The great sage Durvasa then hurriedly left that place to perform his service for Lord Narayana.

Lord Sri Krishna told Arjuna, “Oh sinless one, when Durvasa Muni left that place the brahmana girl [Druapadi in her previous birth] lost all of her opulences in a moment. Being an offender to Purushottama month, her body began to look very ugly, and she lost all of her bodily effulgence. She then decided to worship Lord Shiva who is known as Ashutosh, one who is very easily pleased.

This young brahmani then began to perform great austerities to please Lord Shiva, the husband of Parvati. She continued her austerities for nine thousand years. In the summer season, she would sit for meditation surrounded by fire and under the hot sun. In the winter season, she meditated under freezing cold water. Observing her great austerities, even the demigods became fearful. Lord Shankara then appeared before the brahmana girl because he was pleased by her worship and austerities. When Lord Shiva appeared before the girl in his spiritual form, she immediately stood up rejuvenated. In the presence of Lord Shiva all of her bodily weakness disappeared and she again started to look beautiful. Seeing Lord Shiva in front of her, she started to worship him in her mind, and then began to recite nice prayers to please Him.

Being very pleased with the girl, Lord Shiva said, “Oh performer of austerity, all good fortune to you. Now please ask some boon from me. I am pleased with you. I shall grant whatever you want.”

Hearing these words from the mouth of Lord Shiva, the girl said, “Oh friend of the poor, if you are pleased with me then please give me a husband.” Repeatedly speaking the same words, “Give me a husband,” five times, the girl then fell silent. Then Lord Shiva replied, “Let it be. You have asked for a husband five times, and so you will get five husbands.”

Hearing Lord Shiva’s words, the girl became very ashamed. She said, “Oh Lord, it is most abominable for a girl to have five husbands. Please retract your words.” Lord Shiva then spoke to her very gravely, “That is impossible for me. What you have asked from me will be granted. You will get five husbands in your next life. Previously you offended Purushottama month by not following the kind advice of sage Durvasa. Oh brahmana girl, there is no difference between the body of Durvasa and mine. All we demigods, including Lord Brahma and all the great saints like Narada, worship this Purushottama month in accord with the order of Lord Sri Krishna. A devotee of Purushottama month achieves all good fortune in this life and at the end of his life he goes back to Goloka Dham, the abode of Lord Sri Krishna. Being an offender to this sacred Purushottama month, you will get five husbands in your next life.”

The girl become very remorseful, but Lord Shiva immediately disappeared from the place. After Lord Shiva’s departure the young brahmani became very morose and fearful about her future life. In this way, after few days, the girl left her body by the arrangement of providence.

Lord Sri Krishna then said, “Oh Arjuna, in the meantime the great king Draupada had been performing an elaborate sacrifice. From this sacrificial fire, the young brahmani took her birth. She appeared as the daughter of Maharaja Draupada. Oh Arjuna, the same daughter of Medhavi Rishi has now become famous in the world as Draupadi. She is none other than your present wife. Because she blasphemed the Purushottama month in her previous life, she was insulted by Dushasana in front of the whole Kuru assembly in the presence of all her Pandava husbands. Fortunately she remembered Me [Sri Krishna] and took My shelter. Forgiving her offenses, I protected her from that most abominable condition and saved her from the hand of Dushasana. Oh dear Pandava brothers, please don’t forget to worship the forthcoming Purushottama month. A person who blasphemes Purushottama month will never attain good fortune. This Purushottama month is fully potent to fulfill all your desires and remove all miseries. Now your fourteen years of forest life is coming to an end. Please worship this Purushottama month sincerely, for it will bestow all good fortune upon you.” Giving full consolation to the Pandavas in this way, Lord Sri Krishna then left that place for Dwaraka.

After some time, when Purushottama month appeared, Maharaja Yudhisthira reminded his younger brothers and wife Draupadi of the words of Lord Sri Krishna. All of them followed the instructions He had given them. They worshipped Purushottama Sri Krishna in various ways during this sacred month. From the merit they achieved by performing Purushottama vrata, they regained their lost kingdom, and after enjoying a happy life they all returned back to Godhead by the grace of Lord Sri Krishna.

An intelligent person should engage himself in hearing Krishna katha from a pure soul. In this way, one should always meditate on Krishna and discuss His pastimes with other devotees. He should take rest thinking of Lord Sri Krishna within his heart. If one is a grihastha, he should perform his household duties in a truthful and peaceful way. He should not commit violence to others and should be merciful towards saintly people as well as to the poor. Protection of animals, truthful speech, mercifulness, and nonviolence are some of the important principles a grihastha should follow.

Suta Goswami then continued to relate this discussion between Lord Narayana and Naradji to the sages of Naimisaranya. He said, “O brahmanas, the great sage Narada Muni became very pleased by hearing all about Purushottama month from Lord Narayana. He paid his obeisances again and again to Him and began to speak, “Oh this Purushottama month is the best of all months, it is the best of all kinds of vratas and austerities. Even if one just hears the glories of Purushottama month faithfully, he will achieve devotional service to the Supreme Lord Purusottama, and all of his sinful reactions will be immediately nullified. One who performs Purushottama vrata and worships Purushottama month properly will achieve unlimited merit and thus attain Goloka.

Narada Muni then told Lord Narayana, “O Lord, now I am fully satisfied and my heart and mind are completely satisfied. All glories to You!”

After so explaining these glories of Purushottama month, Srila Suta Gosvami asked permission from the assembled sages to take their leave, bathe in the Ganges, and perform his other regular duties. They gratefully agreed, and he then paid them his humble obesiances and went to the Ganges. The sages of Naimisaranya then spoke among themselves, “Oh, this sacred Purushottama month is the most glorious, and its history is ancient. It is so merciful that it fulfills all of a devotee’s desires just like a desire tree. How glorious is Purushottama month!”
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